The U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego was effectively closed Aug. 21 as staff coped with the loss of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden, who was discovered by police in an office of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building on Aug. 19.

The San Diego Police Department received a call regarding a man who was potentially missing a short time before the discovery, a police spokesman said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected,” police department spokesman Sgt. Saum Poorsaleh told The Epoch Times.

The cause and manner of Haden’s death is still under investigation and will be determined by the county medical examiner, Poorsaleh said.

Haden, 48, served as acting U.S. attorney twice during transitions between full-time leaders in the district—from August 2023 to October 2023, and from February 2025 to April 2025—before U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The grim discovery has rattled the legal community in San Diego.

Gordon said the office will remember Haden for the light he brought to the world.

“This is one of the darkest days in our office’s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden’s life,” Gordon said in a statement provided to media outlets. “He was a beacon of light—full of laughter, friendship, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community. We will honor his life and legacy by carrying his light forward, today and always.”

San Diego District Attorney Jim Koerber offered his condolences to Haden’s wife, Kristen, and her family.

“Andrew Haden was the epitome of professionalism, both locally and nationally,” Koerber said on social media. “May he rest in peace.”

Haden was a native of San Diego and a career federal prosecutor. He joined the office in 2010 through the Attorney General’s Honors Program and prosecuted cases in a variety of subject matters, including violent crime, racketeering, drug trafficking, immigration offenses, child exploitation, cyberstalking, and firearms offenses, according to his biography.

Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego, Calif., on Feb. 10, 2025. (Jane Yang/The Epoch Times)

In 2024, he received a national Peter J. Mazza Outstanding Federal Lawyer Award by the Federal Bar Association that recognizes exemplary federal lawyers.

Haden also served as a law clerk to Judge Thomas J. Whelan in the U.S. District Court in San Diego. He was an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he also earned his law degree. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.

Before becoming a prosecutor, Haden served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy from 2000 to 2005. He was deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Joint Task Force Liberia.

Haden was married to Kristen Santerre Haden, an attorney at the Alternate Public Defender’s Office. His family has not yet made a public statement following his death.